Walmart to cut jobs amid a changing retail landscape

[ResidentialBusiness]

Major changes are afoot behind-the-scenes at Walmart. The retailer is cutting hundreds of jobs and shuttering its North Carolina office. Employees from certain locations are also being asked to move to its newly opened headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, and other central hubs. 

News of the shake up was first reported by Fox Business after Walmart Chief People Officer Donna Morris sent a memo detailing the cuts and other changes to employees. “We are making these changes to put key capabilities together, encouraging speed and shared understanding,” the memo, viewed by Fox read. “Through this review process, we have eliminated some roles as we streamline how we work.”

According to the memo, Walmart is also opening offices in Sunnyvale, California, Bellevue, Washington, and expanding offices in Hoboken, New Jersey and New York City.

The cuts aren’t the first to hit Walmart, which is both the world’s largest employer and the world’s largest retailer. In May, the company cut hundreds of jobs and asked Dallas, Atlanta, and Toronto workers to relocate to central hubs, too. At the time, it also asked that all remote employees come back to the office full time. That move came shortly after the company said it would shut down its virtual health care service, and close its 51 in-store health centers. 

Some experts believe that Walmart’s efforts to streamline operations, including continued cuts and relocating employees to headquarters, are about staying competitive with the world’s largest online retailer: Amazon. “I think this is the year where Walmart’s assault on Amazon gains serious momentum,” Fox Business market analyst Keith Fitz-Gerald said per Newsweek in January. “I think the stock is going to radically outperform it, and we’re going to see a renewed customer confidence in that particular brand.”

Walmart is not alone in its 2025 layoffs. Salesforce, a cloud-based software company, announced this week that it would cut 1,000 roles at the company. Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, have each had their own rounds of major layoffs already this year, too. And when it comes to retailers, 2025 is likely to be another big year for store closures. According to a January report from Coresight Research, as many as 15,000 U.S. retail locations could shutter this year. Party City, Big Lots, and Macy’s are among the brands that have already announced closures this year.

News of the latest cuts comes shortly after the Walmart faced blowback for rolling back its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) program just months ago. After the brand announced it would end the initiative, 30 investors sent a letter to CEO Doug McMillian, voicing their collective disdain for the move. “Walmart has sent a clear signal to all underrepresented and marginalized groups that Walmart will not fight to protect their rights,” the letter stated.

Walmart didn’t provide details on how many employees would lose their jobs, or how many it’s asking to relocate. But it did specify that employees would have a month to let Walmart know if they will move in order to keep their job with the company.

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